Saturday, December 31, 2016

This is a long time in coming, and in some ways it’s already
happened. After 10 years of posting in various forums, I’ve decided to stop
pretending that I’m writing a music blog any more. This blog hasn’t existed in
the same form for all these years. For those of you who have stuck by for the
last decade, you’ve seen it morph from Facebook notes and Xanga to blogspot and
even my own URL, which my wife bought me as a gift. But here we are, at the end
of 2016. I have a newborn son. Life has taken me everywhere and to many places
I never dreamed I’d go. And all the while, blogging has become harder and more
like a chore. The internet is saturated with blogs too, and any designs I ever
had on becoming a high traffic site suffered under the reality that I never
knew quite how to make that happen. But every time I thought about stopping, I
pushed on, driven by the kindest comment or a single individual who was opened
up to a new band or a new favorite song because of me and The Past and the
Pending.

If you’ll entertain me and you have time to read, I want to
write some thoughts down. And if no one ever reads it, that’s okay too. I
always knew the blog was more for myself than anyone else. It was a way for me
to organize and diary something very meaningful to my life. And I love having a
written record.

I don’t exactly know when this all happened. Growing up I
listened to almost all Christian music, plus my dad’s Elton John album, a
greatest hits collection played live in Australia. As a kid I think my favorite
song was “Place in this World” by Michael W. Smith. My first “secular” love was
“Black Balloon” by The Goo Goo Dolls. Like many my age, I had a distinct Linkin
Park phase in high school. Things change. Some things do not.

Nickel Creek, The Shins, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, Band of
Horses, Jimmy Eat World, The Hold Steady, Spoon, The National, Bon Iver, The
Killers, Something Corporate/Jack’s Mannequin and everything Andrew McMahon
touched. These are the artists that shaped me. These are the albums I’ll play
my son. Someday maybe The Hold Steady’s “Separation Sunday” will become my
son’s version of my dad’s live Elton John album. I can only hope.

Nothing can top that early thrill. I was not exposed to much
music growing up. Discovering entire discographies at once is overwhelming and
exhilarating. I got to discover Radiohead all at once. To me their first new
album was “In Rainbows”. I still remember going into Best Buy and buying three
albums all at once: Interpol’s “Antics”, Keane’s “Hopes and Fears”, and Snow
Patrol’s “Final Straw”…on the same day! And that meant I hadn’t even heard
Interpol’s masterpiece “Untitled” yet. I got two burned copies of The Shins’
two first albums at the same time and fell in love. And yes, I was one of those
people who fawned over Garden State. Natalie Portman and “The Shins will change your life” and all that jazz.

In 2007, for some reason I
decided to write a Top 50 songs of the year. I didn’t know then that I’d do 10
of them. Or that anyone would actually care. The first #1 song was “Australia”
by none other than The Shins. It should have been my #7 song that year, “Detlef
Schrempf” by Band of Horses, a song that is deeply meaningful to me.

“So take
it as a song or a lesson to learn/And sometime soon be better than you were/If
you say you're gonna go, then be careful/And watch how you treat every living
soul”.

At some point the blog stopped
being fun. And while you might think it’s because so few people read (that's undeniably a factor, admittedly), that
wasn't the main driver or I couldn’t have kept it up for a decade. In
reality, my perspective on music criticism has changed. I used to review
albums, positively or negatively. I used to have best and worst songs. I used
to make fun of bad lyrics, and eviscerated the likes of Owl City, Nickelback,
etc. I was part of the online hipster hater club. I stopped that a while ago,
focusing purely on recommendations. I now believe you can like whatever you
like, and viewed the blog as a way to say to my readers “hey, if you’re looking
for something new, try this”. So I stopped doing pure reviews. If the album
wasn’t good, I just didn’t talk about it. That left me less to write about. Second,
online music blogs have changed too. There’s so much noise. My favorite blogs
are touting EDM and indie hip-hop more and more. Free mp3’s aren’t as readily
available. My peers are 30+ and have kids and don’t want new music as much, and
the younger consumers of online content mostly like things that I do not. And
sharing a blog post on your facebook news feed? Just clutter. More noise and
clutter among a noisy and cluttered world of social media. I know it and you
know it.

I want to thank you. Some of you have been reading here and
commenting for a long time. You stopped me from quitting dozens of times. All I
needed to know was that I helped you find a new favorite band or song. In the
last ten years if I’ve helped you find that, that would make me very happy.
Thanks for the love and support and requests and comments. It has always meant
a lot. And if you still want recommendations I’m still here. I’m not giving up
my love of music, and I'll still do a top 50 in some forum simply because I still like that part alone, but I’m giving up feeling like I need to write about music. So
farewell, my friends, and thanks for reading.

The award for best new voice in 2016 goes to Isaac Gracie, and the fact that this is a live recording speaks volumes. Isaac doesn't have a lot of tracks, but with the potential flashed on "All In My Mind" I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do.

9. Bon Iver – “8 (circle)”

Bon Iver walks--and sometimes crosses--a fine line between exploring new sounds and creating needless noise on his new album. But on "8 (circle)" he nails it. Sounding more soulful than he ever has, Vernon stays in a lower register and delivers strong. "We've galvanized at the squall of it all" is one of his best lyrics ever.

8. Animal Collective – “Golden Gal”

Animal Collective just couldn't accept that they'd mastered the balance between experimentalism and pop way back in 2009 with songs like "My Girls", instead opting for years of mind-blowingly noisy and, cough, "challenging" music that got the occasional good review but got no consistent airplay from anyone I knew. Their new album may not be a complete return to form, but for one shining moment on "Golden Gal" the band shows why they took the world by storm.

7. Sia – “Broken Glass”

Like passion and key changes? Sia is perhaps the queen of the epic anthem these days, and she leaves nothing on the table here. The result is the kind of song that needs the volume high.

6. High Highs – “Boxing”

Close your eyes and let "Boxing" sweep over you. High Highs make some moody, atmospheric music, and "Boxing" is the best of a strong album.

5. Band of Horses – “Dull Times/The Moon”

On hearing the opening song from Band of Horses new album, it was like meeting up with an old familiar friend. It's no secret that I--and many others--found Band of Horses' last album to be disappointing and lost. "Dull Times/The Moon" is a seven minute song that opens their new album, and the first half is vintage BoH, pensive and thoughtful. The second half is a romp, reminiscent of their earliest days. It works wonders together.

4. Caveman – “80 West”

80 West stretches from Chicago to San Francisco, traversing the endless Midwest of Nebraska, Iowa, and Wyoming, slipping through beautiful Salt Lake City, across the worst stretch of major freeway through northern Nevada, before crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. I've been on this freeway at almost every stretch, but on different trips, with many pensive moments along the way. For a band based out of Brooklyn, NY, the song title hints that the song was written on the road. It's a thoughtful song, and I like to imagine it was penned on one of those great road trip moments.

3. Jimmy Eat World – “It Matters” «««««

I needed this song. This blog has meant a lot to me, and the early formative years were filled and inspired by Jimmy Eat World. Songs like "23" and "Dizzy" are among my all time favorites, and I've seen Jimmy Eat World live multiple times. To me they always perfectly encapsulated the best elements of energy and introspective lyrics. If you want to try and hear what I hear, focus on the line "I imagine talks that last all night/never bring it up, but every day I want to/I think about us dancing, but it's not something we do/well there's my dream, doesn't it sound good to you?". In one line, both lyrically and with delivery, the song perfectly captures the disappointment when dreams and expectations don't match reality.

2. Bear’s Den – “Red Earth & The Pouring Rain” «««««

"Red Earth & The Pouring Rain" is said to have been inspired by an ancient Sangam poem found in the lead singer's room in an Indian guest house in the coastal town of Kochi. The poem, which you can read about here, reads "But in love our hearts are as red earth and pouring rain: mingled, beyond parting." It's a beautiful verse and a fantastic song. Musically, the influence of the 80's are obvious, and the song builds over a propulsive drum line. Vocally the deilvery is full of sincerity. This is an inspired album and an inspired song, and the inspiration is completely unique to anything I can think to compare it to.

1. The 1975 – “Somebody Else”

«««««

The 1975 amaze me, and I wish I were a fly on the wall to understand how this band operates and writes music. I say this because there is a definite teen-sensation element to the band, where image means something and a flock of high school girls no doubt love them. There's immaturity in the lyrics as well at times, including this song,, and they have an entire song called "Please Be Naked". What's amazing about that song is that it's an instrumental, and it's beautiful. Their albums are full of curious filler and overwrought song titles. But then, like they also have before ("Chocolate" and "Robbers" to name a couple), they are capable of an absolutely perfect song. In a word, The 1975 confound me. So that leaves us with "Somebody Else", and although any of the top three songs this year could have been #1, it's this song I keep coming back to over and over again. Start with the haunting and simple opening, which portrays a dark and lonely soundscape right off the bat. The echoing and wounded vocals hit, with the opening line "So I heard you found somebody else, and at first, I thought, it was lie..." Before you feel for the artist too much, it becomes apparent that the source of the breakup is himself, though he's trapped in the confusing feelings of missing some elements of the relationship despite being the source for its demise. Musically the song is incredibly lush with detail. Just pay attention to the background right at the minute mark, for instance. This song is not remotely straightforward, and if you don't give them the time of day because of their image, you will miss it. I can scarcely think of a song that uses its sound to convey a mood better. The confusion, the jealousy, the anxiety, the haziness of everything being expressed, can be felt just as much as it's explained through the vocals. This song, especially the first minute, is the best of 2016.

Local Natives made one of the peppiest albums with
Gorilla Manor, one of the saddest with Hummingbird, and they split the
difference on Sunlit Youth. It doesn’t carry the same overall strength as an
album, but it’s an outstanding collection of tracks.

7. The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so
beautiful yet so unaware of it

I could write a whole post on the potential of The 1975,
who seem to possess both the ability to be a below average teen heartthrob band
or to be one of the most interesting sounding bands in the world. When they are at their best—Somebody
Else, Paris, A Change of Heart—they absolutely excel.

6. Bon Iver – 22, A Million

This is Bon Iver’s worst album of the three, and it’s
wonderful. Justin Vernon stretches the listener’s patience with pretentious
indie noises, but it’s still glistening with Bon Iver’s signature sound and
very high highs.

5. The Lumineers – Cleopatra

Here’s the surprise album of the year. Mostly known for “Ho,
Hey!”, The Lumineers put out a fantastic album this year with Cleopatra,
complete with outstanding storytelling and an overall vibe front to back. Don’t
overlook it.

4. Band of Horses – Why Are You OK

Sigh of relief. Band of Horses’ last album Mirage Rock
was bad and crushingly disappointing. Ben Bridwell regrouped and learned to
write about life as a happy family man, and delivers another smashing success
with Why Are You OK.

3. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

It’s always a treat to get a full-fledged Radiohead
album, something that happens only every four to five years. A Moon Shaped Pool
does not disappoint from string-tinged opener of “Burn the Witch” all the way
to the longtime deep cut “True Love Waits”.

2. Jimmy Eat World – Integrity Blues

There was a time once, near when this blog started in
some other form, when Jimmy Eat World was coming off releasing their best album,
Futures, before following it up with the also-great Chase This Light. Since
then there have been decent songs, but no good albums, and I confess I didn’t
believe there ever would be again. But Integrity Blues was the album I needed
at the perfect time and their best album in a decade.

1. Bear’s Den – Red Earth & The Pouring Rain

On their sophomore album, the British band Bear’s Den
releases a sweeping album full of
storytelling, imagery, and emotion. There’s an earnestness here. Bear’s Den
sings from the heart, and unashamedly so. “Red Earth and the Pouring Rain” kicks it off
on a high note, with a soaring, 80’s-influenced anthem that’s among the year’s
best. Bear’s Den has a special talent for making you see what they are
describing. On “Napoleon” it’s a father with “a tall glass of Napoleon and an
off-white leather chair”. “Greenwoods Bethlehem” borrows its name from an
Indian guesthouse on the Arabian Sea, while the title track was based on a poem
found in the guest room there. The result is the year’s best album.